SolvedHow to add the "Virtual Network Editor" to VMware Player

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Polyhedric Stellation

This enhancement applies to VMware Player standalone. If you have VMware Workstation installed, you don't need to apply this as Workstation includes all the features (and also includes VMware Player).

As the most VMware Workstation users know, there is a virtual network editor available that lets you configure the virtual networks, add new networks and delete networks for the virtual machines and also bridged networks with the host computer.

The editor is useful (mostly for advanced users...but you'll never now when it might be needed) to add, delete and configure the default virtual networks that come pre-installed with Player.

VMware Player is Workstation's little brother, it's free and comes with less features. There is no Network editor with VMware Player (...or is it?)

The network editor is available in the VMware Player installer but it's default set NOT to install with the rest of the features (don't know why).

It seems different fixes need to be applied to each of Player's version 4, 5 or 6.

If using version 4 of the Player, this also applies to version 3.

I'm gonna show you how to add the network editor to VMware Player.
It's easy, or it should have been... but each version has its surprise.
Keep in mind that techniques used for one version apply for newer versions too but the files need to be extracted form other installers and other archives or additional files may be required.

Player version 3 and 4
To begin we first need to extract the VMware Player installer with some extra parameters (name-of-installer.exe /e .\extract). You put the installer in a folder of your choice and create a shortcut of it as shown below (1) with the extra parameters in the target:

Then you run the shortcut that creates a folder (extract) containing all the components.

Go to folder "extract". We are interested in "network.cab": open or extract it and there you see "vmnetcfg.exe". It's the network editor.

Copy or move it in the VMware Player installation folder ("\Program Files (x86)\VMware\VMware Player" should be the default path).
This is shown below:

Now we are ready. The network editor is part of VMware Player just like in Workstation.
The virtual networks that appear in the notification area in Windows Vista and later can be configured or deleted:

Don't delete them if you use networking in your virtual machines.
The network editor works as seen in last screenshot.

Polyhedric Stellation

I thought this fix is not needed anymore starting with version 4.0.4 of VM Player but I was wrong. My mistake.
The fix still applies because the network.cab doesn't get extracted to Program Files (x86).

Polyhedric Stellation

Again: this is not needed for those using VMware Workstation 9.
This is needed for those of us using VMware Player 5 only.

And the same problem to VMware Player 5: No network editor included, but this time the problem got bigger.

It seems that the network editor isn't bundled with the Player's installer (no network.cab).
To add vmnetcfg.exe, we need to extract it from Workstation's installer (the link below shows how: -e parameter still applies).

So a 260-400mb file is needed to extract a 4-5mb piece of program we need...

I never thought about it but if you look at both files that do this job, they are (almost) of the same size, but the hashes are different.

This is solved and it's even shorter to do, so next time I upgrade Player there's no need to copy the vmnetcfg.exe file from Workstation. ...that's why they took it out in the first place.. it was replaced by a dll. I wonder why it wasn't documented, or how I skipped that part...

Polyhedric Stellation

In case Player really removed the network editor or until we find the command, this will do the work.

I do hope we get a workaround from Vmware or someone, for the sake of us not using Workstation and the need to download the big installer each time and performing an extraction (not sure how many basic users want or can do this properly). But until then, we get the needed files like this.

Classical workaround:

1. Get Workstation's installer.

2. Extract the installer.

3. Go to core.cab and get the 2 files (that's right: now we need 2 files).
Make sure you remove the extra " _ " character from the dll's name (see screenshot below).

This is seen as a version mismatch. You still use Player 6.0.0 but you need 6.0.1 (matching all dlls from Workstation 10.0.1).
My steps were confirmed to work on multiple pc's. All needs to be extracted and replaced as it should.

Install Player6.0.1 and the network editor needs to come from Workstation10.0.1 or Player 6.0.0 for Workstation 10.0.0.
(WS10 includes Player6 but notice that the minor version between the two programs is the same: be it 0.0 or 0.1...)

The ordinal 1319 could not be located in the dynamic link library vmwarebaseDLL.

Same problem: if vmwarebase is 10.0.0 and the net editor comes from 10.0.1 then it will give some problems. The other way around also gives problems because the versions need to match (as Workstation includes a Player in it's install that has the needed version).

If you downloaded form there, it will always give you the latest WS: get the latest Player for that. The version is seen in the name of the installer file.
Player 6.0.1 and Network Editor (vmnetcfg) 10.0.1 work fine.

I hope you get it to work now.
You may need to reinstall the latest Player or use the right matching Workstation version to extract.

My Computer

New Member

be a bit careful of using "Quasi legal" methods -- VMware workstation is a commercial product and what you are doing is extracting some files out of the paid for product to get round an obvious limitation in the freeware product. It's fine by me but remember that the later versions of VMware player might have been DELIBERATELY modified to make the paid for product more attractive -- not nice but it's the way of the world -- that dreadful word "Monetisation" again.

I agree though removing a significantly USEFUL feature in the updated version is not a good thing to do - certainly without this being mentioned in the documentation.

Don't though rely on this method of working forever. !!

I got into trouble on this very forum in helping people make the old Classic Windows 7 games work on W8 / W8.1 / W2012 server / W2008 server by using a similar trick using the W7 install media so it's fine that it works but IMO VMware should re-instate the feature ASAP.

Polyhedric Stellation

Jimbo's got a point. But if VMware decides to change their mind in the feature list of Player we'll definitely see it in the change-log or licensing: hiding a feature doesn't directly mean it's forbidden to use it, but we'll have to keep an eye on this one.

I provided this thread here to help and point out that the networking in Player still works and that it wasn't (entirely) removed.
If in a point in time it gets to dirty or difficult to keep the network editor working in Player then maybe the time comes we'll stop using it anymore like this.

But because VM Player installs networks by default, it's natural users want to disable/modify those if they don't agree with the standard settings. Between the versions we've seen VMware experimenting with the features in Player. But networking is, one way or another, always there: as long as they provide it, it will be user-modifiable and there is no point in hiding it because those interested will always try to get it working again.

Take for instance post #7 in this thread by vertigo: that's a valid proof that VMPlayer can control the networking buit-in: but they've changed/hidden that away again since then. I'm sure it's still there somewhere but aside of this, using the vmnetcfg is still the base of getting to network config. When the config wouldn't work, some other method will (have to) be discovered again.

@weeer
Run 6.0.2 with the right files and it still works.
It looks like you have indeed a version mismatch for the vmnetcfg files.

What should work is indeed a 10.0.2 vmnetcfg and dll for 6.0.2 Player install, and it's confirmed that those exist:

New Member

10.0.2 is available from the VMware site - I think though you have to register to download it so when version 11 comes out you might not be able to download it again as a Free "Trial". However VMWARE seen quite reasonable so far -- no reason why they shouldn't be -- a HUGE company now with Enterprise products just ready at the right time with Cloud Servers and VDI systems being implemented all over the place.

I looked on the VMware forums about the missing network configuration editor -- I get the impression that although you can now CREATE VM's with VMPLAYER (used to be not possible) they are hiving off VMPLAYER into a corporate (small business) sector which will be chargeable and a Home version which will probably be reduced to base features only.

(I remember a while ago that in order to CREATE a VM that would work on VMPLAYER (Workstation is OK but it's not particularly cheap if you don't have nice benevolent work provider who pays your license fee) you used to have to fiddle around with QEMU and .VMX files -- BTW the QEMU program is still around !!).